Keep the right job version at both sites during a move

Topic
Phased moves and business continuity
Reading time
3 minutes
Last reviewed
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  1. Start with a specific change
  2. Identify every affected holder
  3. Resolve work already in progress
  4. Test access after the records move

During a move, a drawing or job instruction can reach one site while another continues with an earlier version. Keep a clear authorised route for changes while teams and records are split across addresses.

The business needs to know which version applies to which work. Sending an email is only one part of that handoff. The responsible people also need to know it reached the affected job and what to do about work already started.

Start with a specific change

In a fictional example, a customer sends drawing revision D to the office while the old workshop is using revision C. A new-site team has a printed copy of C for a job expected to transfer later.

The authorised technical person first needs to establish what the change affects. It may apply to future work, a particular order or a broader group; the site teams should not guess. The relevant commercial and quality arrangements need review where required.

Identify every affected holder

Ask who holds the working instruction for the affected jobs, including any authorised external process. Use the business's controlled document arrangements to locate the relevant copies and records.

The live-order routing record helps identify which site owns each job. It should point to the authorised information source rather than becoming a second uncontrolled store of drawings.

Send the accepted change to each responsible person through the agreed route. Record the acknowledgement needed by the business's process. If a person is unavailable, follow the authorised escalation rather than assuming silence means acceptance.

Resolve work already in progress

The technical and quality leads must decide what the change means for work started under the earlier instruction. The project team should identify that work and preserve its factual status. It should not issue an improvised rework or disposal instruction simply to make the records match.

Keep any superseded working copies controlled through the business's established process. Do not delete historical production evidence merely because a newer drawing exists. The relevant record owner should determine what remains needed and how it is identified.

The split office-and-workshop exercise can test whether the proposed communication route reaches the right decision-maker at both locations.

Test access after the records move

Include a version-retrieval check in the IT cutover plan. Ask an authorised user to locate the current instruction for a selected job through the ordinary business route. A copied folder existing at the new site does not show that staff can identify the right instruction.

Record and resolve any conflicting answers before relying on that route for new work. Keep system configuration and document-control design with the appropriate specialists.

Where equipment release depends on finishing the affected work, explain the changed availability condition to UK Auction Group. There is no need to send confidential drawings with a general surplus update. The enquiry needs the business decision and the point at which availability can be confirmed.

See Phased moves and continuity for the connected order controls.

Sources

This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.

Releasing surplus equipment?

UK Auction Group surveys the surplus, values it item by item and runs the sale around your operation, so the working site keeps working while the surplus is sold and collected.

Send a list of what you have, where it is and your deadline. Decisions that are still open can be included.

Surplus asset disposal after mergers and restructuring Contact UK Auction Group

Business Closure Guide is part of the UK Auction Group portfolio.

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